The Task-Based Resourcing methodology enables you to add tasks to a proposed project, and then create resource requests and assignments from them. It also enables you to manage project tasks through the project life cycle and ensure that assignments are updated due to changes to project tasks. You can adjust the following settings and validation rules to customize the process to suit your approach.
Custom Settings Used for Task-Based Resourcing
The following custom settings and their fields are used for task-based resourcing.
|
Custom Setting |
Field |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Task Management Settings | Project Task Scheduling | Can contain a value of Retain Past Schedules, which sets the scheduling strategy to be used when moving project task dates. When blank, schedules respect the auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments configuration option, if it is set to true. The default value is blank. |
Configuration Options Used for Task-Based Resourcing
The following configuration groups and their options are used for task-based resourcing.
|
Configuration Group |
Configuration Option |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resource Requests | allow-to-assign-a-resource-with-different-role | allow-to-assign-a-resource-with-different-role |
| auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource | auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource | |
| auto-update-pta-with-held-resource | auto-update-pta-with-held-resource | |
| auto-update-rr-with-assigned-resource |
auto-update-rr-with-assigned-resource | |
| create_RR_only_where_all_info_available_on_PTA | create_RR_only_where_all_info_available_on_PTA | |
| create-rr-if-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | create-rr-if-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | |
| ignore-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | ignore-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | |
| default-resource-role | default-resource-role | |
| pta_fieldset_to_split _resource_request | pta_fieldset_to_split _resource_request | |
| Schedule | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments |
| auto-recalculate-schedule-for-held-resource-requests | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-held-resource-requests |
Validation Rules Used for Task-Based Resourcing
| Parent Object | Validation Rule | Action | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Task Assignment | Resource_Or_External_Resource_Required | Deactivate | In a task-based approach to project planning, users may want to assign a role, rather than an internal or external resource A person or entity that is external to your Salesforce organization. You can use external resources when assigning external staff, such as contractors, to project tasks., to a project task. If enabled, this validation rule will prevent them from doing so. |
Changes to Assignment Schedules When Project Tasks Are Changed
You must consider the following information if you are using a task-based resourcing methodology and you are updating project tasks that have linked assignments.
You can use:
- A value of Retain Past Schedules in the Project Task Scheduling field in the Task Management Settings custom setting. This ensures that existing schedules in the past are unchanged.
- The configuration option auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments in the Schedule configuration group.
Using the Custom Setting Field
You can assign a value of Retain Past Schedules in the Project Task Scheduling field of the Task Management Settings custom setting. Using this value, when project tasks are changed, hours for assignment schedules in the past are unchanged, but hours for assignment schedules on the current day and in future are calculated to be distributed evenly across each remaining project task.
After changes have been made to any of the assignment's project tasks, the total estimated hours for the assignment's project tasks and the total scheduled hours on the assignment are always aligned. Also, the earliest project task start date and latest project task end date always match the assignment start and end date.
In cases where the the Retain Past Schedule value is assigned, and the project tasks that are in the past are edited in Gantt, the total estimated hours for the assignment's project tasks and the total scheduled hours on the assignment are always aligned. However, it is possible that the earliest project task start date is not aligned with the assignment start date.
Any difference between the updated hours and the project task's original estimated hours is treated in the assignment schedule as follows:
- If there are more hours after updating, these hours are added to the final day of the assignment schedule, whether or not it is a working day, and even if there are more than 24 hours added for that day.
- If there are fewer hours after updating, these hours are removed from the final days of the assignment schedule, as needed. This can result in 0 hours being scheduled on a number of days leading up to, and including, the final day of the assignment schedule.
For more information about this custom setting field and the configuration options used for task-based resourcing, see Task Management Settings
Using the Configuration Option
The relevant Schedule configuration group option is auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments.
Option Set to True
When the option is set to true, changes to project tasks result in the following:
- All of the schedules of related assignments are recalculated.
- The hours allocated to resources are distributed evenly across each project task related to the same assignment, whether they are in the past, present, or future.
Option Set to False
When the option is set to false, changes to project tasks result in the following:
- No changes to the schedules of related assignments. The dates and hours can become unsynchronized with the project tasks and need to be recalculated.
- The Eligible for Schedule Recalculation checkbox on the assignment is selected.
For details of recalculating assignment schedules, see also:
Link to Assignments
You can configure PSA to update source project task assignment records with the resource that you eventually assign to a task-driven resource request Describes a resource request that has been generated based on information on project tasks and their associated project task assignments. If you use a task-based approach to manage your projects, you can generate task-driven resource requests on the Generate Resource Requests From Project Task Assignments page (accessed from Project Task Gantt, Gantt or the Project detail record).. This ensures consistency between resources assigned to project tasks and resources assigned to regular assignments downstream. If you have assigned external resources A person or entity that is external to your Salesforce organization. You can use external resources when assigning external staff, such as contractors, to project tasks. to project tasks, using either Project Task Gantt, Gantt or the standard Salesforce interface, they are automatically removed when you come to assign a resource to a task-driven resource request. For more information, see auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource.
Permissions Required for Task-Based Resourcing
Assign users the Resource Request Entry permission control and edit access for the relevant fields to allow them to generate resource requests based on project tasks. For more information, see Permission Control Fields.